IV hangover cure prompts concern service endorses binge drinking

Many people may have their own go-to remedy to cure the fuzzy-tongued, groggy, grouchy hangover, from a night of drinking. But now you can add a medical treatment to get you back on your feet.

It's called a Hangover drip and it involves an IV bag that delivers, ostensibly, restorative, healthy benefits including vitamins and hydration.

This IV drip is being touted as the ultimate hangover cure.

Believe it or not, across Canada and the United States, thousands of people are spending hundreds of dollars each to undergo this treatment at private clinics. It's their way to avoid paying the full cost of a night's over-indulgence. 

Dr. Amauri Caversan is a naturopathic doctor in Toronto who offers the Hangover Drip as part of his services.

Even if a shot-in-the-arm of vitamins to help ease a hangover sounds like just what the doctor ordered on a Saturday morning. We wanted to get a second opinion.

Lynda Balneaves is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and the Director of the Centre for Integrative Medicine.  

Psychology of drinking and Canada's relationship with booze

The efficacy of the hangover IV drip may be in question but the fact the treatment exists, and people are willing to pay for it, certainly says something about the state of Canada's drinking culture today.    

Dr. Tim Stockwell is the Director of the Centre for Addictions Research of BC at the University of Victoria.
 

What are your thoughts about the culture of drinking in Canada today? Is it something to be concerned about?

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This segment was produced by The Current's Catherine Kalbfleisch, Ines Colabrese and Kinsey Clarke.